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Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912 | www.dailytrojan.com | VOL. 172, NO. 11 | Thursday January 27, 2011
Easy fix: Despite an interesting
plot, The Mechanic is
unremarkable. PAGE 5
Sweep: Men’s volleyball defeated
UCSB in 3 straight sets last night.
PAGE 10
InDEX
By dara weinraub
Daily Trojan
President C. L. Max Nikias
warned students to think twice
before attending raves in an e-mail
sent Wednesday.
Nikias advised students to be
“cognizant of your choices and to
make wise decisions during your
time here at USC.”
In the letter, Nikias mentioned
that several venues near campus­­­—
including the Los Angeles
Coliseum, the Los Angeles Sports
Arena and the Shrine Auditorium
— routinely hold raves. These
events, Nikias said, “present seri-ous
risks to all who attend.”
The letter went on to list some
of the common effects of the drug
ecstasy, which is frequently linked
to the rave scene.
“Ecstasy, which is common at
raves, produces a number of ad-verse
reactions that may include
disorientation, anxiety, paranoia,
panic attacks and hallucinations,”
Nikias wrote. “These reactions,
even in mild forms, can create a
ripple effect of dangers that lead
to catastrophic consequences.”
The letter comes about two
months after a USC freshman fell
from the sixth floor of Birnkrant
Residence Hall after attending
Hard Haunted Mansion, a rave at
the Shrine Auditorium.
LAPD Deputy Chief Pat Gannon
told the Los Angeles Times that
based on a police investigation
report, it appeared the student
had consumed alcohol, marijua-na
and ecstasy during the rave on
Halloween night.
This summer, a 15-year-old girl
died at the Electric Daisy Carnival
at the Coliseum. The girl did not
meet the minimum age require-ment
of 16 to attend the rave, and
doctors told family members that
she had ecstasy in her system, ac-cording
to the Times. More than
185,000 people attended the two-day
event, and approximately 120
people were taken to emergency
rooms, according to the Times.
The Los Angeles Memorial
Coliseum Commission plans to
meet next week to decide if it will
allow the Electric Daisy Carnival
to occur this June.
Pasquale Rotella, the owner
of Insomniac Inc., one of the two
companies that holds raves at the
Coliseum, issued a statement in
response to Nikias’ letter.
“Insomniac’s events aim to
cultivate and enrich the human
mind and spirit through the arts
— a goal that is perfectly in tune
with USC’s own mission state-ment,”
Rotella said. “We are eager
to meet with President Nikias to
provide more information to him
and to address his concerns.”
Insomniac Inc. is hosting
another rave, Beyond Wonderland,
on March 19 at the NOS Events
Center in San Bernardino.
Denzil Suite, USC’s associate
vice president of Student Affairs,
said Nikias’ letter to the student
body was intended to raise aware-ness
about raves.
“I think it was prompted purely
out of concern for the well-being
of the students,” Suite said. “Some
students attend raves and he
just wanted to make sure they
are making good choices if they
decide to do so.”
Linda Dahl, a sophomore ma-joring
in political science and
Nikias’ letter warns
about rave dangers
In light of recent rave-related
injuries, the president advised
students to make good choices.
Carlo Acenas | Daily Trojan
Venue · The historical Shrine Auditorium, directly across from Parking Structure D, not only hosts
concerts and awards shows, but also the annual Hard Haunted Mansion Halloween rave, held Oct. 30-31.
By Cynthia ruiz
Daily Trojan
Sarah Shourd, an American who
was imprisoned in Iran for 410
days, will speak about her experi-ences
on campus tonight.
Shourd will speak at
“Imprisoned in Iran: American
Hikers’ Search for Freedom” which
will include a screening of Jeff
Kaufman’s Free Shane and Josh:
An Urgent Plea for Compassion,
and a panel discussion to illustrate
the toll the tragedy has taken on
the families of the hikers.
The event, which is spon-sored
by The Gould School of
Law, the School of Cinematic
Arts and the Annenberg School of
Communication and Journalism,
will be tonight at 7 p.m. at the
School of Cinematic Arts Complex.
Iranian officials arrested
Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh
Fattal in July 2009 after they ac-cidentally
crossed the border into
Iran, accusing them of espionage.
The Iranian government freed
Shourd on Sept. 14, 2010 after 410
days of imprisonment.
Shourd’s fiancé, Bauer,
and Fattal, however, are still
imprisoned.
The film was made to provide
more information about the
imprisonment as well as to help
others understand the situation of
the hikers.
When the film was complet-ed,
Kaufman contacted Hannah
Garry, the director of USC’s Law
International Human Rights
Clinic. He proposed that the clin-ic,
which is dedicated to the glob-al
human rights movement, help to
publicize the film. Garry took the
project a step further by contact-ing
the USC School of Cinematic
Arts.
“[The USC School of Cinematic
Arts] feels that sponsoring these
kinds of documentaries that raise
these types of issues is part of their
mission,” Garry said.
The film aims to paint a clear
picture of what happened to
Shourd, Bauer and Fattal by pro-viding
personal stories of their de-tention
in Iran.
“People don’t always get the right
information or the full picture.
Hiker who was imprisoned
in Iran to speak at USC
Film producer contacts USC
to help publicize documentary
and to raise awareness.
| see shourd, page 3 |
| see rave , page 3 |
Mindy Curtis | Daily Trojan Breaking ground
The owners and guests of The Icon Co., LLC pose for a picture at the groundbreaking ceremony
for the Icon Plaza, the new luxury housing development on the corner of Figueroa Street and
Exposition Boulevard. The new building is expected to rival Tuscany and Gateway apartments.
2 · News Digest 4 · Opinion 5 · Lifestyle 6 · Sudoku 8 · Classifieds 12 · Sports

Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912 | www.dailytrojan.com | VOL. 172, NO. 11 | Thursday January 27, 2011
Easy fix: Despite an interesting
plot, The Mechanic is
unremarkable. PAGE 5
Sweep: Men’s volleyball defeated
UCSB in 3 straight sets last night.
PAGE 10
InDEX
By dara weinraub
Daily Trojan
President C. L. Max Nikias
warned students to think twice
before attending raves in an e-mail
sent Wednesday.
Nikias advised students to be
“cognizant of your choices and to
make wise decisions during your
time here at USC.”
In the letter, Nikias mentioned
that several venues near campus­­­—
including the Los Angeles
Coliseum, the Los Angeles Sports
Arena and the Shrine Auditorium
— routinely hold raves. These
events, Nikias said, “present seri-ous
risks to all who attend.”
The letter went on to list some
of the common effects of the drug
ecstasy, which is frequently linked
to the rave scene.
“Ecstasy, which is common at
raves, produces a number of ad-verse
reactions that may include
disorientation, anxiety, paranoia,
panic attacks and hallucinations,”
Nikias wrote. “These reactions,
even in mild forms, can create a
ripple effect of dangers that lead
to catastrophic consequences.”
The letter comes about two
months after a USC freshman fell
from the sixth floor of Birnkrant
Residence Hall after attending
Hard Haunted Mansion, a rave at
the Shrine Auditorium.
LAPD Deputy Chief Pat Gannon
told the Los Angeles Times that
based on a police investigation
report, it appeared the student
had consumed alcohol, marijua-na
and ecstasy during the rave on
Halloween night.
This summer, a 15-year-old girl
died at the Electric Daisy Carnival
at the Coliseum. The girl did not
meet the minimum age require-ment
of 16 to attend the rave, and
doctors told family members that
she had ecstasy in her system, ac-cording
to the Times. More than
185,000 people attended the two-day
event, and approximately 120
people were taken to emergency
rooms, according to the Times.
The Los Angeles Memorial
Coliseum Commission plans to
meet next week to decide if it will
allow the Electric Daisy Carnival
to occur this June.
Pasquale Rotella, the owner
of Insomniac Inc., one of the two
companies that holds raves at the
Coliseum, issued a statement in
response to Nikias’ letter.
“Insomniac’s events aim to
cultivate and enrich the human
mind and spirit through the arts
— a goal that is perfectly in tune
with USC’s own mission state-ment,”
Rotella said. “We are eager
to meet with President Nikias to
provide more information to him
and to address his concerns.”
Insomniac Inc. is hosting
another rave, Beyond Wonderland,
on March 19 at the NOS Events
Center in San Bernardino.
Denzil Suite, USC’s associate
vice president of Student Affairs,
said Nikias’ letter to the student
body was intended to raise aware-ness
about raves.
“I think it was prompted purely
out of concern for the well-being
of the students,” Suite said. “Some
students attend raves and he
just wanted to make sure they
are making good choices if they
decide to do so.”
Linda Dahl, a sophomore ma-joring
in political science and
Nikias’ letter warns
about rave dangers
In light of recent rave-related
injuries, the president advised
students to make good choices.
Carlo Acenas | Daily Trojan
Venue · The historical Shrine Auditorium, directly across from Parking Structure D, not only hosts
concerts and awards shows, but also the annual Hard Haunted Mansion Halloween rave, held Oct. 30-31.
By Cynthia ruiz
Daily Trojan
Sarah Shourd, an American who
was imprisoned in Iran for 410
days, will speak about her experi-ences
on campus tonight.
Shourd will speak at
“Imprisoned in Iran: American
Hikers’ Search for Freedom” which
will include a screening of Jeff
Kaufman’s Free Shane and Josh:
An Urgent Plea for Compassion,
and a panel discussion to illustrate
the toll the tragedy has taken on
the families of the hikers.
The event, which is spon-sored
by The Gould School of
Law, the School of Cinematic
Arts and the Annenberg School of
Communication and Journalism,
will be tonight at 7 p.m. at the
School of Cinematic Arts Complex.
Iranian officials arrested
Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh
Fattal in July 2009 after they ac-cidentally
crossed the border into
Iran, accusing them of espionage.
The Iranian government freed
Shourd on Sept. 14, 2010 after 410
days of imprisonment.
Shourd’s fiancé, Bauer,
and Fattal, however, are still
imprisoned.
The film was made to provide
more information about the
imprisonment as well as to help
others understand the situation of
the hikers.
When the film was complet-ed,
Kaufman contacted Hannah
Garry, the director of USC’s Law
International Human Rights
Clinic. He proposed that the clin-ic,
which is dedicated to the glob-al
human rights movement, help to
publicize the film. Garry took the
project a step further by contact-ing
the USC School of Cinematic
Arts.
“[The USC School of Cinematic
Arts] feels that sponsoring these
kinds of documentaries that raise
these types of issues is part of their
mission,” Garry said.
The film aims to paint a clear
picture of what happened to
Shourd, Bauer and Fattal by pro-viding
personal stories of their de-tention
in Iran.
“People don’t always get the right
information or the full picture.
Hiker who was imprisoned
in Iran to speak at USC
Film producer contacts USC
to help publicize documentary
and to raise awareness.
| see shourd, page 3 |
| see rave , page 3 |
Mindy Curtis | Daily Trojan Breaking ground
The owners and guests of The Icon Co., LLC pose for a picture at the groundbreaking ceremony
for the Icon Plaza, the new luxury housing development on the corner of Figueroa Street and
Exposition Boulevard. The new building is expected to rival Tuscany and Gateway apartments.
2 · News Digest 4 · Opinion 5 · Lifestyle 6 · Sudoku 8 · Classifieds 12 · Sports